System and method for managing broadcast communications in a wireless communication network

Abstract

Disclosed are a system and method for wireless communication comprising a plurality of end device identifiers arranged into a first list and a second list. The first list includes a plurality of target end device identifiers corresponding to a first group of wireless electronic devices for communicating with a central computing device. A filter list is generated having a plurality of filters such that each target end device identifier on the first list matches with exactly one filter of the filter list, and no end device identifiers on the second list match with any filter of the filter list. Electronic messages including the filters of the filter list are broadcast such that end device possessing an identifier from the first group receives and processes a message while no devices on the second accept any broadcast messages.

1 . A method for wireless communication, comprising:
 arranging a plurality of end device identifiers into a first list and a second list, the first list including a plurality of target end device identifiers corresponding to a first group of wireless electronic devices for communicating with a central computing device;   generating a filter list having a plurality of filters such that each target end device identifier on the first list matches with exactly one filter of the filter list, and no end device identifiers on the second list match with any filter of the filter list; and   broadcasting electronic messages including the filters of the filter list such that end device possessing an identifier from the first group receives and processes a message while no devices on the second accept any broadcast messages.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the filters include a mask component and a value component, and wherein a filter is determined to match a target end point identifier every bit in the end device identifier is either equivalent to a corresponding bit of the value component or has a corresponding bit value of 0 of the mask component. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the filter list comprises:
 analyzing the bits of each of the plurality of end device identifiers;   forming a filter of the plurality of filters by iteratively adding relevant bits to the filter and each time a relevant bit is added to the filter comparing the filter to the end device identifiers in the first list and the second list;   removing end device identifiers from the first list and/or the second list that do not match the formed filter; and   adding a completed filter to the plurality of filters when the second list is empty; and   regenerating the first list and the second list such that end device identifiers from the first list that match one of the plurality of filters are moved to the second list; and   repeating the steps of generating filters to add to the filter list and regenerating the first list and the second list until the first list is empty.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the broadcast electronic messages electronic messages are in compliance with a low energy Bluetooth™ (BLE) advertising message communication standard. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless electronic devices are constructed and arranged as electronic tags or clips. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . A computer system, comprising:
 a processor;   a memory device coupled to the processor; and   a computer readable storage device coupled to the processor, wherein the storage device contains program code executable by the processor via the memory device to implement a method for processing an electronic communication, comprising:
 arranging a plurality of end device identifiers into a first list and a second list, the first list including a plurality of target end point identifiers corresponding to a plurality of wireless electronic devices for communicating with a central computing device; 
 generating a filter list that includes a plurality of filters for all of the target end point identifiers; and 
 transmitting electronic messages to the plurality of wireless electronic devices according to the filters. 
   
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein a filter of the plurality of filters is sent to a group of wireless electronic devices of the plurality of wireless electronic devices, wherein each device in the group of wireless electronic device compares relevant bits of the filter to a device address to determine whether to process an electronic message received with the filter. 
     
     
         9 . An end device, comprising:
 a radio-frequency (RF) receiver receiving an RF communication including a bit string that corresponds to a filter, the filter determining one or more intended targets of the RF communication, the RF communication including an identification of which one or more bits of the filter are relevant for determining whether the end device is an intended target;   memory configured to store an address of the end device; and   a processor configured to compare the one or more relevant bits of the filter with the address of the end device and to produce a response to the RF communication if each value of the one or more relevant bits of the filter match each value of corresponding bits of the address of the end device.   
     
     
         10 . (canceled)